Load-bearing member



' Aug. 31, 1943. H, c, FSCHER ET A 2,328,442

LOAD-BEARING MEMBER Filed Dec. 3, 1942 INVENTORS V ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 31, 1943 2,328,442 I LOAD-BEARING MEMBER Herbert G. Fischer, Wellesley Hills, and Allan H. W. Higgins, Boston. Mass.

Application December 3,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of buildings, ships, airplanes, and the like, and has for its object to provide novel flanged structural elements similar to those disclosed in our prior application Serial No. 461,412, filed October 9, 1942, in that they have alternate grooves and 'ribs, preferably sinuously curved, extending transversely from one margin of the web to the other, forming voids for the reception of nails, screws, and the like, for attaching other build ing members such as walls, floor joists, roofers, etc., thereto. Our structural element is formed with a flange along one or both margins of its web and the grooves and ribs are then formed in the web preferably by cold rolling it.

In accordance with our present invention, the grooves in the web of the element may be and preferably are exceptionally shallow in their depth below the tops oi the ribs. To form the complete load-bearing member, the element with its web thus formed is secured to a companion structural element having its web similarly formed, with the webs of the two elements onposed to each other and with their conformingly curved ribs abutting each other and secured 1942, Serial No. 467,696

(Cl. 189-34l ments are preferably identical. flanges 8 and i joined by a web l2. formed with alternate ribs 14 and grooves I6 preferably by a cold rolling process, such as is disclosed in our prior application above identified. As therein described, in making the element, a strip of sheet metal, plastic, or the like, of predetermined width and thickness is first formed I Each has side with the side flanges 8 and H) which enhance the together, as by spot welding. The opposed grooves in the two webs define nail-receiving voids having cross-sectional dimensions adequate to receive the nails.

By thus utilizing the opposed grooves of superposed webs to receive the nails, the grooves in each web may be of a depth no greater than onehalf the nail diameter below the tops of the ribs so that little attenuation of the web is needed to form the ribs and grooves and the high loadbearing strength of the preserved despite the cold rolling process to which its flanged web has been subjected.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a flanged structural member, made in accordance with the preferred embodiment of our invention, shown in use with a piece of flooring or planking nailed thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the member with one of its elements broken away to show the face of the opposed element;

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified construction.

The structural member, indicated generally at 2 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, is composed of two structural elements 4 and 6. The two eleelement is substantially posed parallel to and opposite the load-bearing strength of the element. The sheet with its marginal flanges continues in the cold rolling process through upper and lower rolls having mating protuberances and recesses which press the web l2 to shape it into the alternate ribs l4 and grooves l6. As will appear, the depth of the bottom of the-grooves below the tops of the ribs in our present elements may be even shallower than in the elements of our prior invention and, accordingly, the amount of attenuation of the web during the cold rolling process may be kept at a minimum.

The ribs and grooves formed in the web of each of the elements are sinuously curved from one margin of the web to the other.

The structural element 2 thus with the face of its ribbed and grooved web disweb of another element 6, preferably identical with the element 4, with the ribs and grooves of the two webs juxtaposed and the ribs abutting, as shown in Fig. 3

In order that the ribs and grooves of the two tion, one of the elements is inverted with relation to the other, as is indicated by a comparison of the positions of the flanges 8 and ll] of the two elements.

While the elements are so held they are secured together by spot welding their abutting ribs, as indicated at 20.

When the welds have been allowed to cool the structural load-bearing member is complete with its opposed webs permanently held together.

The opposed grooves of the two elements define nail-receiving voids 24, which are sinuously curved from one margin of the web to the other to receive and distort a nail driven lengthwise of the ;void, as shown at 26 in Fig. 2. Thereby, the wooden piece 30 (Fig. 1) is securely held to the structural member 2. Preferably, the opposite extremities of each rib are tapered, as at 32 and 34 (Fig. 2), and are spaced from the bend line between the adjacent flange and web, as shown at a, to insure that a nail driven into the wooden The web is I formed is placed piece at any place lengthwise of the structural member finds its way into one of the voids 24. As will appear from the drawing, the ends of the ribs l4 during their formation by rolling are provided with convexly curved taperin ends merging smoothly into the face of the web, thus providing outwardly flaring unobstructed entrances into the grooves I6 whereby fasteners are directly and smoothly guided into the grooves.

As shown in Fig. 3, the depth of the grooves i6 formed in both webs is considerably less than the diameter of nail 26 and may be substantially onehalf of it. Thereby, the cold rolling process, by

which the ribs and grooves are formed, may be suiiiciently light to avoid undue weakening of the web, and yet the void 24 formed by the opposed grooves is adequate to receive the nail 26 preferably with a tight friction fit. Our structural member is, therefore, strong and yet it is eifective for securely holding the nails driven into it. It is considerably less expensive to make than any similar prior devices suggested by others with which we are familiar.

The specific construction of either or both of the companion structural elements may be varied as required by individual buildin needs. Thus, for enhanced load-bearing strength, a heavy channel iron, such as is shown at 40 in Fig. 4, may be employed, and either or both elements made to be combined with such an iron may have a single side flange rather than two flanges. Thus, the element 60 with its ribbed and grooved web 62a is spot welded to the ribbed and grooved web 62b of a complementary element 64. Each element has only one flange and the flange 6B of element 60 is secured to the flange 68 of the channel iron 40 by spot welding 10. In this embodiment the two elements are not identical, since the conforming curvature of the ribs and grooves when the webs abut each other requires the use of one element with ribs and grooves curving to the right and another with ribs and grooves curvin to the left.

For some purposes the use of straight rather than sinuously curving ribs and grooves is efiective such, for example, as where screws are employed.

The flooring 30 has been referred to merely for illustrative purposes and our novel structural member can, of course, be used to secure and support all sorts of collateral building pieces. Except as the appended claims require, our invention is not to be limited to any such details nor to the specific shape or size of either structural element of the pairs herein illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A load-bearing structural member including in combination a pair of structural elements each transversely thereof, the said elements having their Webs secured together with their ribs abutting and their opposed complementary grooves defining passages into which fasteners may be driven between said elements to secure other building members thereto, said ribs, on said opposed web faces, presenting convexly curved 2. A load-bearing structural member including in combination a pair of structural elements each having a web and a flange disposed alon at least one margin of its web, said webs being each formed of sheet bent to provide upstanding hollow ribs and alterin combination a pair of structural elements each HERBERT C. FISCHER. ALLAN H. W. HIGGINS. 

